A US woman who shot and killed her husband and two adult children before taking her own life is thought to have committed the shocking crime as a result of being ostracised from the religion she was raised in.

A federal judge sentenced a former Arkansas judge Wednesday to five years in prison — a stiffer punishment than prosecutors recommended — after he admitted giving young male defendants lighter sentences in return for personal benefits that included sexual favours.

Every time I tell a mate I’m doing a story on cryptocurrency, they invariably ask me the same two questions: should they invest their own hard-earned money, and which cryptocurrency will get them a Lamborghini/yacht/island quickest?

In a 60 Minutes online exclusive, reporter Liz Hayes quizzed Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on his relationship with the unpredictable Twitter aficionado and US president Donald Trump ahead of their meeting at the White House Friday.

FIFO mental health data lacking: inquiry

Information about suicides among the fly-in fly-out community is unreliable, a West Australian parliamentary committee has found.

The committee conducted an inquiry into the mental health of FIFO workers after nine reportedly took their lives over a 12 month period.

In handing down its interim report on Thursday, the committee said it was not able to confirm those figures, but that was "hardly surprising given the absence of reliable data".

"We are quite surprised in the fact there is no central, comprehensive database saying where the reporting has occurred and what has occurred," committee chair Graham Jacobs said.

Department of Mines and Petroleum's Simon Ridge had told the inquiry that mental health was not a part of current resources sector safety legislation.

And when an employee took their own life, not only was there no requirement to record whether or not they were a FIFO worker, it was not considered a suicide if it didn't occur on site and during rostered hours.

Mr Ridge also pointed out that it was "moronic" and "silly" that two separate government departments - his own and Worksafe - dealt with resources sector health and safety.